When ?Nine Inch Nails? and later ?Coldplay? gave away their albums for free via digital download, Indian music listeners wondered when Indian artists would follow suit. ?Indian Ocean? has ended the wait and will give out songs from their latest album, 16/330 Khajoor Road, for free. On July 25, the first song will be out for download. On the 25th of every successive month, a new song will be put out. The physical album will be out seven months down the line with a bonus disc, which is not part of the free music. This initiative revives the ?free lunch? argument and industry experts say there is such a thing. It?s just that someone else pays for it!

?The easiest way to get people to listen to your music is to put it online and for free, thus enabling people to discover the music,? says Neysa Mendes, an artist manager. Says Dhruv Jagasia, manager, ?Indian Ocean?, ?Any band?s primary and largest source of revenue comes from live concerts and allows the drawing of a larger audience and fanbase. Giving music for free involves popularising and familiarising fans with the music, which generates into footfalls at a live show.?

Very few people put down money for unheard music, explains Brian D?Souza, frontman of 90’s metal band ?Dementra?, which, back then, put Indian metal onto the world map using the Internet as a digital medium to promote their music to the outside world. ?It is a safe bet to first give away freebies and build on the subsequent feedback,? he says.

Free lunches

The annual 2010 Ficci-KPMG Indian Media & Entertainment Industry Report states that ?the size of the Indian music industry was estimated at around Rs 780 crore in 2009, implying a growth of 7% from 2008. The primary reason has been the increased acceptability of different digital distribution models and music genres other than the Indian film industry?. The digital medium has upturned entire business models with its popularity. Samplers, goodwill, feedback generation schemes, brand promotions, merchandising, licensing, endorsements are all a part of this medium.

The Ficci-KPMG report also speaks about the ?Freemium? Model, which offers basic services for free (with advertising to support it) and the premium version offers better features at a price. ?This trend is observed in Western markets, but with India having one of the fastest growing telecom markets in the world, 3G rollout around the corner and increasing broadband penetration, music companies and service providers in India have an opportunity to pioneer a similar model across digital platforms. As per a KPMG International Consumers and Convergence Survey, 80% of respondents in India expressed their willingness to receive advertisements on their mobile phones in exchange for free music downloads,? mentions the report.

?We are doing an extension of a tried and tested method. But as an extension, it is a first in India. The business model involves taking what you have?your listeners?and sharing your database with someone who will offset the cost. It is a sponsorship-based model. But that being said, even without a sponsor, we would have gone ahead with this idea,? Jagasia elucidates.

Sponsorship deals

In the arts community, any money is good money. Tanmay Bhattacherjee, guitarist and partner of the band Something Relevant feels that one has to understand that there isn’t a lot of capital floating around. ?The only real capital is with alcohol and telecom companies. It would be great to see young bands as brand ambassadors with decent sponsorship deals that sustain their activity. We are artist opinion leaders in India with Red Bull. They are extremely selective about whom they work with and are all about overall development and long-term strategy. They don?t think about one off events and/or albums, but about careers.?

?Indian Ocean? has tied up with Johnny Walker to put out their album. ?Tying up with them means taking off the financial load from our fans. We have sold the property and the idea in collaboration with Johnny Walker but they do not own the album. We are doing a certain amount of shows with them for free. They will be on our website, album, etc, and this generates into eyeballs for them as well. We have already made more money from this effort than we normally would,? deems Jagasia. ?Something Relevant? tapes every live show and gives out only their live tracks for free. ?This is only possible because of the Internet, where all our content is monetised and we get our revenue from ad space and banners,? says Bhattacherjee.

D?Souza mentions that getting your music out on digital distribution sites not only gives you total control and rights over your music, but also gives you a wider platform and direct revenue. ?The most recent is what Vodafone has initiated, giving local artists a platform to showcase their music through ringtones, caller tunes and the revenue is split with the artist.? Mendes speaks about ?Scribe?, a hardcore band from Mumbai. ?They recorded their album ‘Confect’ with the money they won from music competitions and put that up for free download on their Myspace page.

Beginning of a trend?

So will this set a precedent in the Indian music industry? Digital distribution existed 10 years ago, reiterates D?Souza. ?For a not-so-net-savvy nation like India, sponsor-artist deals, where sales are integrated or generated with the help of brands, seemed like the viable option.?

The Internet is responsible for creating a direct link between artist and listener. ?People will always pay for well-produced music, but simultaneously they will always download tracks for convenience,? says Bhattacherjee. ?The Internet is great for independent artists, but not so much for the big labels. It would be unfortunate if the industry side of the music business dictated rules for Internet sharing. Internet providers can get in on the act and new revenue streams can be set up.?

?What’s great is that often, a combination of the two (old and the new) will also work. You can put your album out for free, but despite that your dedicated fans will still buy a copy of your album,? adds Mendes. Jagasia wishes that what they have done ?will empower younger artists to take that huge step towards having a larger say in their own careers?.

A big plus point to free distribution is the fact that music needs to stay in the audience’s head, not on the shelf. Digital mediums are the way for an artist to sustain their product. Figures from the Ficci-KPMG report show that while Bollywood and regional film music are still the largest contributors to Indian music industry revenues, accounting for approximately 65%, niche and high-end categories such as English music and regional non-film music are witnessing growth. The public performance segment is expected to more than double to Rs 894 million by 2014 and the Indian digital music market was estimated at Rs 260 crore in 2009. These figures prove that the independent music scene is finding a voice through free digital distribution and garnering necessary eardrums.